Faded Plaster, Falling Faster
by wizardsrocks
Summary: In the A.U presented in "The One that Could Have Been", Ross tells Carol something very important that he realized. Something she didn't know... until tonight. (Eventual hint at R&R)
1. Chapter 1

Ross had realized that the only woman he had ever loved was a lesbian. He was heartbroken, somewhat angry at the world. But what was worse was that Carol didn't know, even after the threesome fiasco. She had no idea. She had merely thought that her and Ross were just tired from raising Ben. He was a bit of a handful. She and Ross had previously joked that he was meant for 3 parents, not two.

Ross got home around 8, which was late for Ross as Joey had advised him to go to a bar… well, actually, Joey had advised him to go to a strip club, but he was still married. Carol was sitting on the couch, actually worried about Ross. Carol ran to her husband in relief.

"Oh, thank God!" Carol whispered. "Ross, I was so worried! Where were you?"

"Out…" Ross said. Carol smelt his neck; he was practically sweating beer.

"Ross, were you drinking?"

"Yeah? I drink all the time."

"Well this time you may have missed your mouth," Carol sarcastically remarked. "Why were you drinking?"

"Just… some sad news..."

"Ross tell me-" Carol paused. "We'll talk about this later. I'm just glad you're home."

_Are you?_ Ross thought to himself.

"Why don't you go take a shower and brush your teeth?"

"Okay…" Ross headed toward the bathroom.

"Oh and uh… Ross… speaking of showers… I guess it's okay for you to sneak a peak at me every now and then. I shouldn't mind. We are husband and wife after all."

Ross smiled slightly, but the smile was pulled back into a frown. Ross strolled fiercely to the couch.

"Okay, Carol… we need to talk."

"What?"

"Look… it's… it's about last night."

Carol smiled and stroked Ross' arm once. "Yeah?" Carol said excitedly.

"Carol… I hardly got to be with you, let alone this Susan… person."

Carol stood up excitedly.

"Oh you want to try again? Okay!-"

"Carol…" Carol sat down. Ross rubbed his face and his eyes.

"Carol I… I know."

"Know what?"

"I… _know_…"

"Know what?"

She really didn't know.

"You… really don't know, do you?"

"Know WHAT?!"

"Carol… I think… I think you might be a lesbian…"

Carol stares at Ross, eyes and mouth agape.

"You think I'm a lesbian?! You think I'm GAY?!"

"Honey, it's okay…"

Carol stood up angrily. "It's not okay, Ross! I am NOT gay, and I certainly don't want my own HUSBAND to think that!"

"Carol, you were hardly even looking at me during the whole thing!"

"Well… so?! You looked at the door when we were having sex!"

"It wasn't ME it was the POSITION- Look… Carol…"

"Ross I'm telling you! I'm not-"

Carol then stared into space, her entire life flashing before her. When Gale Rostin looked at her, when she touched Susan's arm for the first time… It was more electric than anything ever was with her old boyfriends. And she didn't want to admit this to herself, but it was somewhat more exciting than with Ross.

"Oh... my God..."


	2. Chapter 2

Carol sat there, trying to contemplate everything that was going on in her head. She knew she loved Ross more than anything in the world… but it was all making sense. The reason the threesome was so exciting for her, the reason she didn't want to be intimate with Ross… It finally made sense. But could she bare the sense that it made?

"I… I can't believe this…" Carol stuttered, the complexity of the situation growing inside of her.

"Carol, it's okay…"

"Buh… but I mean… You're my husband, Ross! Weren't you a little-"

"Terrified? Pretty much…" And in deed he was. He always wanted to spend the rest of his life with this woman, ever since he first met her. But he knew, no matter the outcome, this was the right thing to do.

"Ross, you don't understand how bad I want us to work out. You're the only person I ever wanted to… to sleep next to, to wake up to… You're the only person I want to love."

Ross just nodded along at this point, because she was saying exactly what he was thinking.

"I mean… we're… we're soul mates! We have a kid together, Ross! We're a family!" Carol started to choke and tear up. The sadness of the thought of not spending her life with Ross was overwhelming.

"Carol, honey…"

Carol regained partial composure. "No, no! It'll be okay! I can just… put it aside! Yeah! I can still make love to you! Let me prove it to you!"

"You don't… Please don't…"

Carol then placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him with great ambition, trying to find a spark. There just needed to be some passion in them, at least something that she could pretend was passion. But even as Ross began to kiss back and move his hands slowly up her body… they both knew there was nothing. And the scary part? She wished it were Susan's lips that were kissing her.

Both sat back down.

"Wow." Carol said, monotonously. "I'm… so sorry, Ross."

"Carol… don't be sorry. It's not something you can control."

"I wish it were… Ross, believe me, I wish it were…"

A short silence.

"Well.. I guess that leaves us with one option…"

Carol knew what Ross was about to say. And that once those words were said, they could not be unsaid. But she was ready to hear those words. Ross turned to Carol.

"We'll file for divorce on Monday."

Carol nodded. "Ross, I'll always-"

"I know." Ross interrupted, and smiled. Carol smiled back.

Ross got up, got a bag full of essentials and a couple of changes of clothes. He snuck into his son's room and gave him a kiss on the cheek, and then took a cab to Monica's where he intended to stay until he found a new place. He was oddly happy the way things turned out. He had ended on good terms with Carol, he wasn't going to let anything stand in the way of his happiness, and he knew he had made a smart choice in leaving. And he had one very special person to thank; someone from his past who was also having marital problems, and who he wished to reconnect with very soon.

Walls may not be as sturdy as you think. They will eventually fall apart over time. And once that first bit of plaster starts to fade, that's when you know it's time to get out. But so long as you have other walls to keep you safe, just remember… it's just a wall, and walls can be replaced.


End file.
